Sharingan
by Gleam
Summary: Kakashi wears the Sharingan, and the Sharingan wears him.


Kakashi walks down the street, nose in book, left hand in pocket; forehead protector slanted over right eye just so. His skin is limited to fingers and eye - all else is covered. This is Kakashi, the Jounin of the Leaf, and he is walking down the street just so. This is Kakashi.

Obito screams.

_/\/_

This is Kakashi, the man in cloth, waiting in line at the mission counter. Ahead, a chunin, the young teacher Iruka, is passing out leaflets with each mission written on them - A, says one, with Assassination and Momori Kitasuke written on it. B, Escort, Hara Moto. B, Intelligence gathering.

Kakashi waits until he is at the front of the line, using the little orange book in front of his face as a time-passing tool, until Iruka tries to look him in the eyes. Kakashi peeks over the edge of the book with one eye

_HELLO! I can see you there_

and Iruka waves a leaflet at him, emblazoned with A and the execution stamp with someone else's name. Kakashi takes the leaflet, briefly glances over the orders for death, does his little eyesmile and leaves. His left hand flexes in his pocket right before the door and he has to struggle not to blow the door away with any of a thousand jutsus he knows, stolen with Obito.

_KILL!_

Obito shrieks, maddened, from Kakashi's right socket, and Kakashi instead glares harder at the pages of Icha Icha Violence, the page where Taku is stabbed and bleeds out in the final chapter. He has blonde hair and is strangely thin.

Kakashi wobbles, puts his hand on the door, opens it. Sunlight streams through the passage to outdoors and Kakashi must make the effort not to turn and run back to someplace a little warmer than out in the cold sunshine.

_/\/_

Team Seven meets at dawn today, and so Kakashi waits in his tree just out of sight, at the Training Ground where the boys usually go. Sakura sits under a tree and watches Sasuke - Sasuke, the wonder boy, as he beats the tar out of Naruto in yet another spar. His fists collide with depressing regularity on the blonde boy's face, buffet him about, and finally throw him to the ground.

Naruto spits out blood and sits up. He wipes another crimson stream from his forehead, and grins up at Sasuke. He takes glory in the last Uchiha's growing anger and rage. Sasuke shoots forward and plants a knee in the boy's face, knocking him down again - a tooth flies away from the impact. Sakura cheers them on.

Kakashi sits in his tree just out of site, watches the boys beat each other until Naruto should have been nearly dead and Sasuke is mad with rage. Sakura sits and watches and learns of Naruto's impossible durability. Later she will test it on their own.

Naruto is happy that they are happy, and smiles a coal-ember stretch of teeth and lips. There is blood everywhere on him now. Sasuke is lying on the ground. He does not get up. He is tired.

Obito, blood-red, spins behind the forehead protector. Kakashi feels a sudden pain beneath his skull where the Sharingan resides - not the Sharingan eye, not the Sharingan legacy, the _real_ Sharingan

_"MADARA!" Obito shrieks in ecstasy_

And he covers it up by looking at the book again, and looking at Taku's death. Taku bleeds to death and everything is alright again, at least until Obito speaks again. This is Kaka-shi:

This is Kakashi.

_/\/_

Kakashi knocks on the door, waits for someone to answer, asks if it is Netsubo who is answering. The man says yes, hidden behind the door - he has only opened it a crack. Kakashi smiles and says yes, his eye in a curve. He tells the man to please be happy, and to think good thoughts. It will prolong his lifetime. Then Kakashi quietly pushes the door shut with his (_LEFT_) hand, traces a tiny locking seal on it, and turns to go.

The house burns down ten minutes later. None of the windows will open, none of the doors will budge, and none of the glass will shatter. Netsubo boils alive in his living room on top of the sheet metal reforcing just below his carpet. He burns like a bug on a frying pan, turns black like ash and dissolves into a puddle.

Kakashi whistles and pretends to turn the page. Taku is still dying.

_/\/_

The Sharingan eye will not come out, but Kakashi finds himself at his bedroom mirror some days, just before the closet, with his forehead protector off and a rattail comb in his hand. His left hand.

Obito laughs those days.

_/\/_

Kakashi only forms Raikiri with his right.

_/\/_

On the next day, when Kakashi is walking home, Naruto catches up with him, just barely out of breath. Kakashi is impressed - he lives on the other side of Konoha, and the boy had to have been sparring with Sasuke just moments ago. He knows for the fact the Uchiha is still laid out on the field, staring skyward, and hating. Sasuke is always hating.

"Hey there, Sensei!" Naruto says brightly, and falls into step. He says nothing else. His hands slide into the pockets of his great big orange jumpsuit and stay there, the smile on his face, white teeth bright in the sunshine. He beams at the civilians and noncombatants as they scurry by, faces averted or sneering.

Cold sunshine falls all around him.

Kakashi cannot help but shiver - he turns, answers "Hey," and says nothing else. Naruto is alright with that. He follows his teacher to his home, watches the Jounin climb six flights of stairs, and waves as he enters his home. Kakashi locks his door behind him, turns to go make some macaroni.

Two hours later, after he has eaten, he turns and twitches aside a window curtain. He glances outside.

Naruto is still standing there, white and orange and blonde. He notices the movement and beams up at Kakashi with a smile as beautiful and mirrored as clear rainwater; he waves, exaggeratedly. The long and oversized sleeves of the jumpsuit flop from side to side, grating with every movement.

"HEY SENSEI!" Naruto bellows happily, and Kakashi twitches the curtain shut and stands there for a moment.

He takes a long, shuddering breath.

_/\/_

**OBITO**

****

OBITO

**OBITO**

**RIN**

OBITO

_/\/_

Kakashi wakes up the next morning and it is a new day.

He hears crying in his head.

He makes toast and eats it.

It is burnt.


End file.
